HSBC remains Buffalo's biggest bank

HSBC Bank USA NA continues to dominate the local banking scene as the largest deposit-taker in Western New York, according to data released this month by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The global financial services giant, which operates 72 branches in the eight-county region, held $13.1 billion in local deposits as of June 30, 2009, FDIC data shows.

Yet the bank’s year-over-year deposit share declined 10 percent. An HSBC spokesperson said the drop stems from a shift in the way the bank allocates online savings deposits. Such deposits, even those made at branches outside Western New York, were previously held in Buffalo, but last year the bank decided to reallocate those deposits back to the states where they originated, spokesperson Neil Brazil said.

The deposit share decline — from 45.1 percent in 2008 to 34.8 percent this year — does not mean the bank has lost local customers or deposits, Brazil said.

“It is not an accurate indication of loss of customers or decline in deposits,” he said. “It is simply that for procedural reason the funds have been moved elsewhere.”

Meanwhile, M&T Bank had $10.1 billion in local deposits as of June 30, 2009, up from $8.7 billion at the same time last year, according to the FDIC. That marks 26.7 percent hold on the region’s deposits.

“We’ve had organic deposit growth during this period of turbulence and we’re seeing lot of people coming to strong and stable institutions like M&T to put their money,” M&T spokesperson C. Michael Zabel said about the increase.

Based on deposits in the eight-county area, other banks ranked as follows:

• Bank of Holland, $60 million in deposits; 0.1 percent of the deposit share.

• Medina Savings & Loan Association, $31.8 million in deposits.

• First Citizens National Bank, $21 million in deposits.

• Bank of Cattaraugus, $11 million in deposits.

• Woodforest Bank, $1 million in deposits.

Waterford Village Bank, which failed July 24, had $56 million in deposits at the end of June. Those deposits were assumed by Evans Bank, which was the low bidder in the acquisition of the single-branch, start-up bank.